


Scrubbing

by Fire_Cooking



Series: Boxmore bot 'Human' AU [15]
Category: OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Contamination Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Germs, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Mental Instability, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, One Shot, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:35:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26147269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fire_Cooking/pseuds/Fire_Cooking
Summary: Ernesto is suffering some good old fashioned contamination OCD, and now Neil has to fucking deal with it
Relationships: Ernesto/Neil (OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes)
Series: Boxmore bot 'Human' AU [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1486763
Kudos: 3





	Scrubbing

Neil sat in the warm spot in the windows above the stairs. He was happily working on a new composition and was just about to get the thumbnail right. He held his sketchbook up and looked at it. The dust in his nook give a glitter to the wram orange light warming up his insides, making him feel fuzzy and confident his work-

Neil dropped his sketchbook as he heard a yell from downstairs.

Neil put down his sketchbook and pencils, feeling a couple pencils drop off his shirt as he knelt up. He felt his skin prickling and his head spinning.

Maybe he had dreamt the noise and everything was fine.

He heard the scream again, and he knew that it was not going to be the last one.

He jumped off the ledge, landing gracefully on the landing below his perch. He sighed as he heard another scream.

Two more, two more and- one more.

Neil felt himself physically flinch with the final scream.

Neil poked himself into the kitchen, trying to force himself to stop shaking, however he wasn’t comforted by what he saw.

Ernesto was huddled to himself in a corner, his face covered with water, and a scrub brush in his gloved hands, and he was on his hands and knees scrubbing at the already white and starting to wear away grout in the tile floor. Neil took a deep breath.

“Sweetheart?” Neil said quietly.

Ernesto snapped his attention up. He was jittering awkwardly as he looked at Neil, soap and water dripping onto his shirt.

“D-don’t come in.” 

Neil sighed, he took a deep breath and tried to smile at Ernesto.

“It’s okay, you know you just scrubbed the grout a day ago.” Neil said gently.

Ernesto stared at Neil, wide eye’d.

“It’s, it’s not white, it’s filthy it has to be sanitized-” 

“Shush, it’s not dirty, it naturally darkens as it dries-”

“We’re going to get SICK Neil!” Ernesto’s eyes started getting wet, they looked red, probably from whatever cleaning concoction was in that bucket today.

Neil picked his feet off the floor. He started floating towards Ernesto. “It’ll be okay we-”

“Don’t come IN!?!” Ernesto screeched. “YOU’LL GET SICK!”

“I’m not touching anything.” Neil said gently, he floated slowly towards Ernesto. “There isn’t anything that’s going to make us sick. It’s just normal old drying grout, you know the colour darkens, it's supposed to blend into the tiles.”

Ernesto shook with his scrub brush tightly gripped in his hands. “I-It’s supposed to be clean, an an-”

“Shh.” Neil crouched down, and went to put his hand on Ernesto’s shoulder, but Ernesto jumped and backed up. 

“NO!” Ernesto screeched. “I’M COVERED IN GERMS YOU’LL-!”

“Hey.” Neil backed off a bit. “I’m not going to get sick.” Neil crossed his legs mid air and sat hovering above the floor, next to Ernesto who had dropped his brush in the water and was now scrubbing his hands, arms, and face with the bucket water. “Sweetheart, maybe you should go take a shower, I can clean the grout.” Neil said.

“You said that last time and you DIDN’T!” 

Neil sighed. “It’s not that dirty, I just need to wipe it down with sanitizer. You know sanitizer gets all the germs.” 

“I have sanitizer.” Ernesto picked up the scrub brush. “It’s mixed in with the bleach and water.” Ernesto started back at the grout on the floor.

Neil took a deep breath. “The floor is clean as long as sanitizer gets on it. It’s already clean.”

“I- it has to be scrubbed, it’s only clean when it’s white.” Ernesto stumbled out as he scrubbed. Neil sighed and watched Ernesto scrub, slowly moving across the floor inch by inch.

“You know you can come back to cleaning tomorrow, it’s getting late.” Neil said quickly.

“No we’ll get sick, it’ll spread.” Ernesto snapped as he scrubbed the floor.

“We won’t get sick if the germs are in the kitchen and you take a shower, if there even are germs.” Neil said gently.

“There are germs!” Ernesto hissed. “We’ll get sick!” 

“Well, if there were germs, wouldn’t it make sense to just spray down disinfectant, and leave this room alone until the disinfectant has dried.” Neil said matter of factly.

Ernesto started shaking harder as he scrubbed. “If I don’t scrub they won’t come off.”

“But they’ll die with the sanitizer.” Neil said.

“They need to be scrubbed off!” 

“But the sanitizer doesn't need to be scrubbed in.”

“IF I DON’T SCRUB WE’LL GET SICK!”

“No we won’t.”

“Yes we will!” Ernesto dropped the brush and gripped into his hair, his eyes dripping with tears which cut through the bleach residue on his skin. “YOU’RE GOING TO GET SICK JUSt BEING HERE! YOU NEED TO LEAVE!”

“I’m not touching anything.” Neil said. “There are no germs that will make us sick. Everything is clean.”

“IT’S FILTHY.”

“No, it’s not.”

Ernesto started sobbing and scratching at his face as he did.

“You need to stop cleaning, it will make you sick if you don’t take a shower.” Neil said firmly.

“I have to scrub the floor!” Ernesto snapped, his nails dug into his cheeks.

Neil reached over and grabbed Ernesto’s hand, pulling from Ernesto's face, his nails leaving raw and torn skin.

“Ernesto there aren’t any germs, you’re okay everything is clean. You have to stop.” Neil said firmly. Ernesto tried to pull his wrist out of Neil’s grasp.

“Stop you’re getting covered in germs!” Ernesto screeched.

Neil put his feet on the floor, standing up and pulling Ernesto up to his feet.

“Ernesto there are no germs.” 

“YOU ARE GONNA GET SICK!” Ernesto pulled his wrist from Neil’s grip.

“Ernesto you are fine.” 

Ernesto grabbed his bucket and suddenly drenched Neil in the contents of the bucket.

Neil froze with shock a second before looking himself over. He took a deep breath, trying to remain calm.

He looked up, Ernesto was standing, staring at him in a paralized state.

“Well, not I can’t get sick, and there is sanitizer everywhere.” Neil said, trying to remain calm. “Let’s go take a shower, it’ll be okay, we won’t get sick if we are both sanitized, and clean off the chemicals.”

Ernesto was still paralized with the bucket in his hands.

“Ernesto, it’s okay.” Neil stepped forwards, he took the bucket from Ernesto. “We need to get clean now.” Neil put the bucket on the floor, he picked his feet off the floor and got level with Ernesto.

He ran his fingers over the new puffy lines down Ernesto’s face, perking up slowly where Ernesto’s skin was broken.

“Come on, you are in no state to be doing anything right now. Let’s get clean and just relax.” Neil said softly.

Ernesto made a whimpering noise as Neil’s finger grazed his face. His eyes still dripped tears as he closed them and turned away from Neil.

“I- I’m sorry I- That was horrible- I can’t- you need- I need- you have- shower- and-”

“Yeah, lets go take a shower.” Neil dropped to the floor with a clank and took Ernesto’s hands, he started pulling Ernesto through the house.


End file.
